A Time For Change

"Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star

One without a permanent scar

And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there."

Drops of Jupiter, by Train

Harry Potter was not having a good day. And it was about to get worse. He was sitting in the Three Broomsticks with Ron and Luna Weasley, nursing a Firewhisky and pretending to read the Daily Prophet, but he was just waiting. Waiting for Hermione Granger.

She had been gone for two years. A week after Voldemort had been defeated; Hermione had left for the States. With Draco Malfoy. It was a good thing that Harry had been at St. Mungo's recovering from his injuries when he had received her owl, because he had needed an immediate sedative potion.

It wasn't that he had and Hermione had been involved romantically, they hadn't been, it was just...Draco Malfoy? Yes, Draco had been recruited by Professor Snape as a double agent for the Order and without Draco's information they would not have found Voldemort's hiding place, but in what universe would Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy become a couple? Harry had been waiting for the war to be over before telling Hermione he loved her. He had not been sure she felt the same way, but he had never dreamed she had feelings for Draco Malfoy. Draco and Hermione had bickered constantly the entire time they worked together in the Order. Not to mention how they had once chased each other through the halls of the Ministry of Magic hexing each other. That wasn't love. That was...well, okay, maybe that should've been a clue, especially after the said duel the two had both disappeared for two hours and returned looking rather disheveled.

But still Harry had not expected the letter he had received from Hermione:
Dear Harry,

Am going away with Draco to find myself. I will write often.

Love,

Hermione

Hermione kept her promise and other letters had followed. From New York City:

Dear Harry,

We love the shows and nightlife in New York City, but we're leaving tomorrow because the werewolves on Wall Street make us nervous - they're not at all like Professor Lupin.

Love,

Hermione

From New Orleans:

Dear Harry,

We love the atmosphere and food of New Orleans, but everyone thinks Draco is a vampire. He's almost been staked twice! Plus, the humidity is making my hair so frizzy, Draco fears that I may have small rodents living in it.

Love,

Hermione

From St. Louis:
Dear Harry,

We love the openness of the Midwest, but the mooing of the cows is keeping us awake at night (plus, you can fly for hours and never see anything but barns, livestock and fields-- and apparently Draco is allergic to hay), so we're leaving tomorrow.

Love,

Hermione

From Las Vegas:

Dear Harry,

Draco and I were married at the Star Trek Experience (although Draco refused to wear Vulcan ears) and we love the excitement of Vegas but the sun burns poor Draco to a crisp (not to mention he tried to cheat all the big casinos, making the Anti-Magical Cheating Gaming Commission very unhappy), so we're leaving tomorrow.

Love,

Hermione Granger-Malfoy

And the last owl from Seattle:

Dear Harry,

The weather is lovely here and Draco loves the bountiful supply of caffeine, but Bill Gates reminds us of Voldemort, so we're leaving tomorrow and returning to England.

Love,

Hermione and Draco

Harry shook his head as he replayed the events in his head again. Ron was sitting next to him, but was pre-occupied with holding skeins of yarn for his wife, Luna, who was knitting baby booties for their triplets in waiting. Harry glanced over at the couple. Each baby bootie had either a lion or a raven on it...to match the lion and raven head hats she had already knitted.

"Ron, do you think it's fair that I defeated Voldemort and yet Draco Malfoy gets the girl?" Harry asked bluntly.

Ron sighed and gave Harry a sympathetic look. "Sorry, mate, but better Hermione than my baby sister."

Harry took a swig of the Firewhisky. "Wasn't Ginny upset when Draco went away with Hermione? After all, she and Draco were engaged."

Ron shrugged. "Think she was rather relieved, actually. You know how she changes her mind about guys...she says she's holding out for her soul mate now."

The door to the Three Broomsticks opened and Hermione and Draco walked in hand in hand. Hermione waved happily as she spotted the trio, while Draco only smirked in their general direction. Harry quickly finished off his Firewhisky.

Harry and Ron stood up, causing Luna to exclaim, "The yarn, Ron!"

"Oops," Ron said, trying to untangle the mess he had made with the yarn.

Hermione let go of Draco's hand when they reached the table and hugged Harry and attempted to hug Ron, but got tangled in the yarn. As she tried to untangle herself, Draco extended his hand to Harry. Harry ignored it.

Draco rolled his eyes slightly. "There is no reason to be like that about it, Harry."

Harry gave Draco an incredulous look. "I think there is, Malfoy," Harry said stiffly.

Draco shrugged. "Fine. You are coming to our Masquerade Ball at the manor tonight, aren't you? Hermione would be most upset if you didn't come."

"I'll be there. I don't have a costume though."

"I'm dressing as a pumpkin," Luna said dreamily as they had finally sorted out the yarn. "Ron thought it would be a good costume. I don't know why. I don't have red hair."

Draco eyed her large belly and dryly said, "I wonder."

Hermione slapped his chest. "We're just wearing masks," she said to Harry. "You don't have to wear a costume if you don't want to, Harry."

"He probably doesn't want to cover up that glorious scar of his," Draco drawled.

Hermione gave Draco a sharp look and a jab in the arm. "Do play nicely, Draco or I'm taking you back to New Orleans."

"Yes, love," Draco said as he and Hermoine sat down around the table. They kissed after they sat down and Draco draped his arm around Hermione.

Harry watched as Draco and Hermione kissed again. "I've died and gone to hell," Harry said tonelessly.

Draco arched a brow. "You only say that because you've never had to dig a family of mice from Hermoine's hair."

~*~

Harry stood in Malfoy Manor looking uncomfortable. It seemed to him this nightmare of a day would never end. After watching Draco and Hermione feed each other fish and chips, though, Harry decided it probably couldn't get much worse. Then Hermione and Draco made their grand entrance down the main stairway.

They were dressed exquisitely, of course. Hermione's hair cascaded down her shoulders in gentle shiny waves and she wore robes of gold and red with a matching mask. Draco walked as if he owned the place, of course, Harry thought glumly, since his father was dead, he did actually own the place. (Lucius Malfoy had been killed in the war; Narcissa Malfoy had been in St. Mungo's since she had seen the pictures of Draco and Hermione's wedding at the Star Trek Experience). Draco wore dress robes of green and silver with a matching mask. Their appearance was not what disturbed Harry though. It was the way they looked at each other. Even with their faces masked, the love shined in their eyes. Love radiated from them like a warm breeze on a summer day at the beach. Harry shook his head disdainfully and emptied his wine glass.

He turned away from the golden couple and walked to the window to gaze out at the gargoyles patrolling the front lawn. He jumped when a voice from behind him said, "Nice costume, Harry."

Harry spun around to face Hermione Granger-Malfoy. "Thanks, but I'm not wearing a costume."

"Nonsense, Harry. You've always worn your scar like a mask," Hermione said with a slight edge to her voice.

Harry met Hermione's gaze and they stared into each other's eyes for a long moment before Harry broke the silence. "Why didn't you ever tell me you wanted to find yourself?" Harry asked, his eyes darting to where Draco was chatting animatedly with a guest dressed as a cat, complete with whiskers and a tail. "Did you find what you were looking for? Did you even miss me?"

Hermione slowly exhaled. "Harry," she said softly. "I did miss you. I missed you even before I left. You were always so wrapped up in being Harry Potter; I could never find who you really were. You always pushed me away, Harry."

Harry shook his head, he knew in his heart that he had pushed Hermione away, but if she had only given him more time. "But Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly and she took a sip of wine. "Oh, sometimes he annoys me, but -"

"Only sometimes? He's a Malfoy. He may have turned against his family, but that was probably only because he wanted to be on the winning side!" Harry exclaimed in hushed yet urgent voice.

"As I was saying, sometimes Draco annoys me, sometimes I annoy him, but he makes me see sides of myself that I didn't even know I had."

"But he's Draco Malfoy!"

Hermione sighed. "He doesn't eat babies, Harry. Well, sometimes we do have veal and lamb."

Harry rolled his eyes. "But Hermione...I just don't understand."

Hermione looked across the ballroom toward her husband. Draco was now chatting with Parvati and Neville Longbottom, who were costumed as an Indian princess and a Raja. Draco seemed to feel his wife's gaze and he turned his head to her and threw her a grin and a wink. Hermione smiled in return and then returned her attention to Harry. "I can't explain it either, Harry. Draco brings out so much in me...when I am with him; I feel that heaven is overrated, because it just can't get better than what we have."

"I'm happy for you then, Hermione," Harry said sincerely, resigning himself to their relationship.

Hermione smiled warmly and kissed Harry's cheek. "Thank you, Harry. You know what I found out there, Harry? I found out that you can't be afraid of what's inside. You can't be afraid of who you are. But more importantly, you can't be afraid to change. You can't be afraid to see all the colors in your soul."

Harry nodded weakly and Hermione gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she glided across the room to stand by her husband's side.

Harry watched as the couple mingled and sighed. "Maybe there is a time to change," Harry said softly to himself.

"Would you like to dance?" asked a beautiful young redheaded woman wearing a cat mask with whiskers and swirling her black tail.

Harry smiled at Ginny Weasley and put down his wineglass on a floating tray. "I'd like that very much, Ginny," Harry said, deciding that it was time he took action and made this day better.

Ginny laughed as she led Harry to the dance floor. "Aw, you recognized me. It's the hair isn't it?"

"Yes," Harry said. "But you do make a lovely cat."

As they began to dance, Ginny said, "I've been waiting for this for a long time, Harry."

"To dress as a cat?"

Ginny giggled slightly and shook her head in the negative. "No, Harry, not to dress as a cat."

Harry looked befuddled. "Then what have you been waiting for?"

Ginny moved her hands from Harry's shoulders to gently caress the nape of his neck. "You, Harry Potter. For you to see that Hermione isn't the only star in the sky."

Harry slightly raised his left brow. "Ah," Harry said with a crooked grin, "but have you been waiting for The Harry Potter? Because I'm not sure who he is."

"I'm not interested in The Harry Potter," Ginny said. "I'm interested in you, Just Harry."

Harry grinned and pulled Ginny closer, not even noticing as Draco and Hermione danced by as if they were sailing on the sun. His time to change had arrived.

The End